1. Field of the Invention
The invention related to a puncturing stimulation needle with an insertion part in the form of a straight pin, uniformly narrowing towards the tip, and a holder part.
The invention furthermore relates to a puncturing stimulation therapy apparatus with a portable, battery-powered treatment current generator and with electrodes which are connected to this treatment current generator.
2. The prior Art
At a number of sites in the body, there are receptor regions located below the skin surface, which have a stimulus-conduction connection with body parts located at other sites of the body. By stimulating such receptor regions, influence can be exerted on the body parts which are in connection with these receptor regions, for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Puncturing stimulation needles serve the purpose of bringing about a stimulation of the receptor regions which are located at the body surface, i.e. in the skin, and have a stimulus-conduction connection with certain body parts, in order to influence the body parts assigned to these sites, by inserting the needles into the receptor regions. Such an effect is also the goal of acupuncture.
The stimulation needles generally used for acupuncture have an insertion part, which has a smooth surface and in which the region immediately following the tip has a diameter of approximately 0.25 mm. This insertion part generally has a length of about 10 to 15 mm, and is followed by a holder part, which is usually of an approximately cylindrical shape and has a diameter of about 2 to 3 mm.
For the determination of assignments between receptor regions and body parts, and also for the stimulation of receptor regions by the insertion of puncturing stimulation needles, it is of significant importance that the puncturing stimulation needles be inserted as accurately as possible at those sites where the receptor regions are located. It is furthermore important that the puncturing stimulation needles have a good hold, as soon as they are inserted at the correct location, so that the desired effect is maintained for an extended period of time. Both requirements are only insufficiently fulfilled with the aforementioned needles usually used in acupuncture. In order to give the needles with a smooth insertion part a sufficiently stable hold in the skin, these needles are generally inserted so deeply that such a hold of the needles is guaranteed, with this insertion depth often being clearly greater than the depth at which the receptor regions to be stimulated are located, and such relatively deep insertion of the needles is often felt to be unpleasant; the feeling of a pin prick is superimposed on the stimulation effect and can reduce this effect. Furthermore, when inserting such needles, the penetration resistance also often becomes detrimentally obvious, with the result that shifts occur during insertion, with a detrimental effect on exactly reaching the receptor regions.
It can be mentioned that electrodes are known from DE-A-28 23 307 which are intended for insertion into the skin and are supposed to serve for a determination of electrophysiological voltages (ECG). The known electrodes consist of a pin pointed at one end, intended for insertion into the skin, which has one or more bulb-type bulges, and of an approximately cylindrical base part, in which the pin is attached. Precisely targeted insertion of these electrodes under the skin is detrimentally affected by the said bulges. An embodiment with a bulge twisted like a screw is also shown.